Body of Lies comes out tomorrow starring heavy weights Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Directed by Ridley Scott (American Gangster, Kingdom of Heaven, Gladiator) this movie doesn’t need an introduction to how star-powered this high production really is. BUT, why doesn’t it seem like the big blockbuster like it should be?

Okay, I’ve seen commercials. I’ve seen the trailers. They’re pretty awesome. I’ve seen Russell Crowe promoting the film on late night talk shows. But… I just don’t feel like this is going to be as big a hit as it should be. Of course, it has as much potential as any other film this year. I mean… it’s Leo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe! They should totally kick-ass in this anti-terrorism action movie!

Wait… maybe that’s the problem. It seems as though Americans are fed up with all of these political movies. There was an onslaught of political film last year that just bombed (Rendition, In the Valley ofElah, The Kingdom). No one wants to watch a movie about the war overseas anymore.

Okay, what else could be ruining Body of Lies’ chances of being a smash hit? Well, I hate to say it, but Ridley Scott is slipping. After his incredible back-to-back masterpieces with Gladiator and Black HawkDown, he’s made good but not great films. Kingdom of Heaven was just continuing the epic-movie craze, A Good Year was a departure from his comfort zone, and then there was last year’s American Gangster, which actually was a smash hit ($43.6 opening weekend). So why am I not completely pumped for this movie like I was for American Gangster?!

Is it because of Denzel? Is he really the deciding factor through all of this? He is definitely one of the most (if not THE most) bankable actors today. So replacing Denzel with Leo doesn’t cut it.

All right. Why the rant? Well, just because I would not be surprised if Body of Lies doesn’t break $20 this weekend… and with such a stellar cast and a proven director, that’s pathetic. Will I be seeing it? Probably not. It’s already getting mixed reviews from the critics (currently a 52% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)

Oh well. Even though American Gangster was successful in the box office, it failed terribly in the Oscars where it only tallied two nominees. Look for the same result with Body of Lies, just with a significantly lower box office.